ken4ord

OK, in case you're ignorant of this fact, climbing has traditions. These traditions dictate that climbing involves not only athletic ability and skill, but also boldness, adventure and respect for the medium. Turn your back on this and you'll lose what makes climbing special, what makes climbing different than Olympic-level competition in track or volleyball or synchronized swimming. Now, if you don't value boldness and tradition, but you still think scaling walls is "neato", then I suggest you stick to gym climbing and top-roping. Thereby can you remove ALL adventure and boldness from "climbing" and concentrate on perfecting your stupid little "project". I don't have a problem with this approach per se....it's when your bastardized form of climbing requires molesting our cliffs with a grid of bolts to accomodate your poor style that I have a problem. There you go folks, the only reasons to climb is for boldness and tradition. If you are climbing for any other reason then you have bastardized the whole sport of climbing. You might as well take up sycronized swimming. So what about mountain biking, isn't that a bastardization the sport of cycling? Ah the shame. Gawd damn why did ruin golf by making these damned groomed course everywhere? Didn't they realized that golf was to be played in the rough? The list goes on and on. Sports evolve, not that evolution is always a good thing. Seriously man, I agree with you on some points when it comes to bolting and find overbolting quite rediculus at times. Though, when you start spewing about what climbing is to you and make blanket statements that other aspects of climbing are for sissy's and gym weenies that don't have any values. Then it just makes you sound like one of those right-wingnut narrow minded christian fucks who can't seem to understand there is more than one belief system to live life by. Yeah I think it is crap to stick BoLT's on every little piece-o-shit crag everywhere, but I can step off the soap box and understand why they want their BoLT's and accept they don't appreciate climbing for the same reasons I do. Just because they don't appreciate climbing for the same reasons I do, doesn't illegitimze what they consider climbing. As long you can't get beyond that you will never make a change in bolting ethics, you'll just keep the fight going and get nowhere.

Great TR!!!! This is one that is on the list, can't wait to do it someday.

Beautiful looking granite.

Congratulations and welcome to the parenting club!!!!

Damn right those trails shown on Transition look real nice. I think these are the ones I that a friend was telling me about that are realativly new. Or at least I don't recognize them as trails that I know in that area. They definitely doable by a mere mortal as myself compared to the other other two videos on this thread. I definitely need to find a place to rent a AM or FR and do some riding. Yeah I know Bellingham, there was a lot of new trails being built right before I left, just never made it up there. I didn't get in as much riding in the PNW as I would have like, mainly due to the fact I was going climbing all the time.

Bummer, to put all that effort to get time off and to get back in there to have to back off. At least you got a little were able to get up Challenger. Your pictures are awesome, I wish they loaded faster, my connection here sucks. Ditching the pack is unbelievable. Hopefully none of your stuff was in his pack. I am one of the few probably who enjoys bushwhacking, I haven't been back in the Pickets, but heard a lot about the shwaching in there, that I look forward to experiencing it first hand someday. Hope you have better luck next time.

Yeah I agree, I don't particularily like wiping asses. What I am looking forward to is putting her on the pointy end of the rope so she can drag her old man up something heniously hard. Or pointing our bikes downhill and racing to the bottom. Until she is older she will just be a fan on the sidelines. Simone making her Daddy proud, with her "My Daddy is faster than your Daddy" shirt.

Anyone know a place in Seattle that sells these??

Motors are for chickens.

Yeah some monkeys have not evolved. The thing about having a gun, I think is you and whoever else has access to it, better be ready to kill or else whoever you are pointing that thing at may use it on you. I myself, I am not ready to do that, and don't see myself ready to that at any point in my life. I feel this way because I think in most situations someone who is coming take something from you, is not looking to take your life. I would just give them whatever they want and have them get the fuck out my life as soon as possible. Shooting someone may stop them from taking things from you, but I am sure it will leave a pretty engrained memory of them that you'll will be stuck with for the rest of your life. All you need to do is buy a gun /sarcasm Yeah and make the world a safer place.

Hell yeah, nice looking climbing. I miss granite.

Yeah some monkeys have not evolved. The thing about having a gun, I think is you and whoever else has access to it, better be ready to kill or else whoever you are pointing that thing at may use it on you. I myself, I am not ready to do that, and don't see myself ready to that at any point in my life. I feel this way because I think in most situations someone who is coming take something from you, is not looking to take your life. I would just give them whatever they want and have them get the fuck out my life as soon as possible. Shooting someone may stop them from taking things from you, but I am sure it will leave a pretty engrained memory of them that you'll will be stuck with for the rest of your life.

Yeah I haven't ridden that yet, just went and checked it out. There is some hugh ass gaps in there. Lot of other fun stuff.

I have no clue why she doesn't tear them off. She seems to enjoy them! Maybe she knows that her sunglasses are fancier than her mommy's or her daddy's. Hmmm, maybe that is the problem, even though her glasses are all pink and sparklely, she knows they are not as good as mom and dad's glasses.

That is about the 10th time I have read that and it is still just as good as the first time I read it.

Yeah I wish I had the time to go to either of those places, I got some climbing I gotta do when I am out there. I miss Whistler what an awesome place to ride. I have only ridden in Squamish once and I managed to scare myself pretty damn good on a double diamond. I thought just cause they had it listed in the tourist beaureu it would be easy, I was soo soo wrong. I definitely would like to get out on some stuff. I have heard rumors and seen pictures of some great new (in the last two years) free ride shit that has been set up near Seattle. I'll keep you in mind when looking to get out.

We have taken Simone camping 5 times already (4 times in the Akagera game park and once on Lake Kivu), she like's it alot. The only thing is that we are realizing our two person tent is too small for three of us. She is a little jet setter too. She flew back to Rwanda from the states, has flown to Ethiopia and Tanzania in her first 6 months. Next it will be back home for a month, Mexico to visit relatives and hopefully we'll spend Christmas in Mozambique. What's the youngest you guys took your kids camping...? Simone went on her first camping trip when she was about 2.5 months old. We took her on her first hike when she was 2 weeks old, went up on to Granite mountain, I think she slept the whole way in the Bjorne. I would second the opinion to start with car camping and day hikes before venturing off backpacking trips. You want it to be enjoyable for everyone. When hiking with Simone I have added cord onto the pack so that I can clip toys to it so she can play with things while we are hiking. We also carry a blanket so that if she gets burnt out in the pack we can stop and let her stretch her legs a bit. It is important to get the kids used to being carried in the pack, cause when they start walking if they aren't use to it they will want to walk and at 1.5-2 y.o. you won't go far if they are walking, my friends are running to that problem with their daughter. Last weekend I was able to coax her on my shoulder and Simone on my back and we were able to cover some ground. For camping we usually put Simone at the head of our 2 person tent and sleep with our feet crammed down at the end of the tent. We tried sleeping with Simone inbetween us but she tosses and turns too much and kept us awake. We are lucky because Simone sleeps really well, hell last night she went to sleep at 5:30 and amazingly didn't wake until 6:30 in the morning, freaking 13 hour power sleep. dberdinka how do you get your kid to wear sunglasses? I have not figured out how to get Simone to wear them or a hat unless it is hoodie. She just takes them off as soon as they are on. She hasn't figured out to push back with the hoodie, so she usually gives up after a bit of struggle. One of the few great things about my job right now is that I get to spend lunches at home. I figure I'll add a few more pics of Simone from lunch today.

WTF, so in your retarded arguement you are saying that a big mac is just as good as a kobe beef big mac? Damn I guess I have been spending too much money on food that I thought I could taste a difference in quality. Yeah burger is a burger, but if you can't taste the difference between quality ingredients, I feel bad for you. Also with this line thinking there is no such thing as a hamburger, sub, italian, toastie, open face, hoagie, club, they are all sandwiches.

I figured an injury probably had some play in his disappearance. Heck maybe the guy will live a full life instead of dying on the bike. Does anyone know of any place I can rent a FR or AM bike in the Seattle area??? I would like to get out and ride when I am back.

I like all this armchair comentary about waiting until she is ready for the task. Knowing Bug, I am sure he is not dragging his daughter up the mountain for his enjoyment only and pushing his daughter into something she is not up for. Hope you have a good trip Bug, I look forward to hearing about it, especially since one of these days I might in your shoes looking to bring Simone up to the top of Rainier.

I never really did find any good pizza places in Seattle when I was living there. Hell even Kigali has two pizza joints that are better than anything I found in Seattle. Of course they are italian owned and operated.

Hell yeah guys, nice work. Kevin good see you still strong as ever.

We have taken Simone camping 5 times already (4 times in the Akagera game park and once on Lake Kivu), she like's it alot. The only thing is that we are realizing our two person tent is too small for three of us. She is a little jet setter too. She flew back to Rwanda from the states, has flown to Ethiopia and Tanzania in her first 6 months. Next it will be back home for a month, Mexico to visit relatives and hopefully we'll spend Christmas in Mozambique.

that's a Subway sandwich dude, sorry Sorry man, no it's not, italians been around lot longer than Subway. Also, I don't consider Subway a sandwhich shop. First their bread is shit, they don't have any good ham's, those things they call olives taste like soap, their vegatables still taste like they have pesticides on them and they don't have olive oil in those stores even if they say they do. Subway is shit, not like "this is good shit", but more like "this shit is shit, I wouldn't be caught dead eating that shit". Your from Canada, so what do you know, oh yeah mac, cheese and ketchup.

No. Just because someone disagrees with my opinion does not make them stupid. What makes them stupid is to jump to a conclusions about a group of people based on a short video clip. I think I am pretty clear I am not the authority on climbing, but I still stand by my belief, just because something doesn't have economic value doesn't make it less valueable or worthy than things that do. I don't know if I agree with your statement that climbing is mainly done by middle to upper class white guys. Yeah most of them are white and guys that one is pretty obvious, but most climbers I know and who I have met are more lower class. Again I am not an authority on climbing or it's demographics throughout the world, nor do see the point of bringing demographics into the picture. Climbing is a pursuit that enriches or at least hopefully it does enrich ones life. Comparing climbing to alcoholism and suicide is a pretty far stretch and if that is what it is to you, then you need some help. I know that I can go searching on the internet and find all kinds of pictures of people who are roped up and falling to their death. What are those crazy fools thinking pursuing a activity that is so dangerous. Do they not have any regard for their own personal well being??